The Consumer Memo, 12/1: H1N1 vaccine increases

Good news about swine fluAbout 70 million doses of vaccine for swine flu are available in the United States, health authorities said.

With activity of the H1N1 influenza decreasing across the country, the increasing amount of vaccine provides “a window of opportunity” to protect against the flu, said Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Regulators warn Tyson
U.S. health regulators have warned Tyson Foods about unsanitary conditions at a Texas plant that makes seafood soups. In a warning letter Tuesday, the Food and Drug Administration said its inspectors found fish meat stored at dangerously high temperatures at the company’s plant in Fort Worth.

Springdale, Ark.-based Tyson said the problems deal with documentation, not actual product safety.

New air bag rules
New cars and trucks would be required to have larger and stronger side air bags to prevent motorists from being tossed out of vehicles during rollover crashes, the government proposed Tuesday.

The plan is the latest attempt by the government to address deadly rollover crashes. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the proposal, combined with anti-rollover technology, would attempt to reduce the more than 10,000 deaths in rollover crashes every year.

Moving packages
United Parcel Service Inc. expects shipment increases in the “low single digits” during the peak season between Thanksgiving and Christmas, helped by purchases made online, Chief Executive Officer Scott Davis said.

Volume will be “slightly higher” than a year earlier with online retailers among the most optimistic, Davis said.

BusinessWeek deal done
Bloomberg LP says it has completed its purchase of McGraw-Hill’s BusinessWeek magazine. The financial news service had agreed to buy the business magazine in October.

AT&T projector phone
AT&T Inc. will release a new phone — the LG eXpo — on Dec. 7 with an optional snap-on “pico projector” that uses technology from Texas Instruments Inc. The Windows Mobile 6.5 smart phone with a speedy 1 gigahertz processor will be the first projector phone in North America.

The LG eXpo will cost $199 after a $100 mail-in rebate and with a two-year contract.